@article{MoerkerkenBlaschvanBeukeringetal.2019, author = {Moerkerken, Albert and Blasch, Julia and van Beukering, Pieter and van Well, Erik}, title = {A new approach to explain farmers' adoption of climate change mitigation measures}, volume = {159}, journal = {Climatic Change}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Dodrecht}, issn = {1573-1480}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02595-3}, pages = {141 -- 161}, year = {2019}, language = {en} } @article{MoerkerkenDuijndamBlaschetal.2023, author = {Moerkerken, Albert and Duijndam, Sem and Blasch, Julia and van Beukering, Pieter and van Well, Erik}, title = {Which farmers adopt solar energy? A regression analysis to explain adoption decisions over time}, volume = {2023}, journal = {Renewable Energy Focus}, number = {45}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1755-0084}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ref.2023.04.001}, pages = {169 -- 178}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Farmers can play an important role in the critical renewable energy transition by generating solar energy. Farmers' adoption of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system results from a complex and interdependent array of technical, political, social, and economic factors. Under the regime of a covenant on energy and greenhouse gas emissions, the evolution of perceptions and responses to solar PV was monitored for a panel of 279 Dutch farmers in a unique series of surveys in 2015, 2018, and 2020. We observed that the willingness to reduce greenhouse gas emissions steadily increased from 35\% of the farmers in 2015 to 82\% in 2020, while the perceptions toward solar PV adoption among Dutch farmers fluctuated over this period. We examined Dutch farmers' determinants of solar PV uptake through multiple regression analyses. Consistent with the literature, our results indicate that behavioural intentions, the perceived importance of renewable energy, and farmers' innovativeness are the most critical determinants for solar PV adoption. Many farmers mentioned the decreased payback time as the most crucial motive to adopt solar PV. We argue that a stable long-term policy for renewable energy, as implemented in the Netherlands, creates attractive economic conditions for solar PV adoption. At the same time, the payback time is a critical factor in shaping farmers' intentions and behaviour. We recommend more extensive research using panel datasets of farmers, while we also acknowledge the difficulty of obtaining high-quality panel data, which underlines the uniqueness of our analysis.}, language = {en} } @article{BlaschvanderKroonvanBeukeringetal.2020, author = {Blasch, Julia and van der Kroon, Bianca and van Beukering, Pieter and Munster, R and Fabiani, S and Nino, P and Vanino, S}, title = {Farmer preferences for adopting precision farming technologies: a case study from Italy}, volume = {49}, journal = {European Review of Agricultural Economics}, number = {1}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {1464-3618}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbaa031}, pages = {33 -- 81}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Precision farming (PF) technologies can help to mitigate the environmental impact of agriculture by reducing fertiliser use and irrigation while saving cost for the farmer. However, these technologies are not widely adopted in Europe. We study farmers' willingness to adopt PF technologies based on a choice experiment. Among other determinants, we explore the role of social influence for the valuation of PF technology features. The data are analysed using mixed and latent class logit models. Our results show that knowledge of fellow farmers who adopted the technology positively influences the valuation of PF technology features, stressing the importance of networks.}, language = {en} } @article{HeBlaschRobinsonetal.2023, author = {He, Shutong and Blasch, Julia and Robinson, Peter John and van Beukering, Pieter}, title = {Social comparison feedback in decision-making context: Environmental externality levels and psychological traits matter}, volume = {2024}, pages = {108047}, journal = {Ecological Economics}, number = {216}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1873-6106}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.108047}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Social comparison feedback has been widely applied to encourage energy and water conservation, with the ultimate aim to protect ecosystems and the environment. Yet, the effectiveness of social comparison feedback varies. In this study, with 360 UK participants from Prolific, we conducted an online experiment based on a modified dictator game with multi-round purchasing decisions involving trade-offs between individual monetary payoff and real-world carbon offsets donation. A 2 × 3 between-subjects design was implemented, varying in the externality levels associated with the purchase (high versus low), and the type of feedback (self-feedback, social comparison feedback, and tangible emissions feedback - i.e. social comparison enriched with information relating environmental impacts to daily activity and nature). Furthermore, we measured several psychological traits of participants. Our findings show that social comparison interventions are only effective under certain circumstances. Both interventions with social comparison are more effective in the low-externality context. Furthermore, the effect of tangible emissions feedback is moderated by individuals' tendency to conform to specific social norms and compete with others. Compared to standard social comparison feedback, social comparison feedback enriched with tangible emissions information is overall more effective. We highlight the importance of tailoring social comparison interventions to local environmental and cultural contexts.}, language = {en} } @article{MoerkerkenDuijndamBlaschetal.2021, author = {Moerkerken, Albert and Duijndam, Sem and Blasch, Julia and van Beukering, Pieter and Smit, Arnoud}, title = {Determinants of energy efficiency in the Dutch dairy sector}, volume = {2021}, pages = {126095}, journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production}, subtitle = {dilemmas for sustainability}, number = {293}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0959-6526}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126095}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Since the European Energy Efficiency Directive, a lot of attention has been paid to energy saving measures, including how to overcome the barriers for implementation. This paper addresses the dilemmas of the Dutch dairy sector, where farms are getting bigger and mechanization is increasing, while at the same time the sector is aiming for improved energy efficiency and sustainability. With an online tool which systematically recorded the energy performance of dairy farmers, a unique dataset on farm energy use with more than 25,000 observations over the years 2015-2018 was obtained. This allows for a robust analysis of the determinants of energy efficiency in the sector, using panel data analyses. The results of this study reveal three major trends. First, the on-farm use of solar panels proves to be the most significant determinant for reducing non-renewable energy use. Second, gains in energy efficiency triggered by government policies are countervailed by the continuous trend of mechanization, with especially automatic milking systems causing lower energy efficiency. Third, the increasing economies of scale in milk production substantially improve per-unit energy efficiency. However, the increased need for mechanization related to higher on-farm production can cancel out this economies-of-scale effect. These findings add important new insights to the literature on cleaner production in farms and have important policy implications. Strategies for more energy-efficient farming should entail two directions for innovation: first, the stimulation of more energy efficient automatic milking systems, and second, the stimulation of solar energy production on farms including a better on-farm utilization of solar electricity.}, language = {en} } @article{HeBlaschBeukeringetal.2022, author = {He, Shutong and Blasch, Julia and Beukering, Pieter van and Wang, Junfeng}, title = {Energy labels and heuristic decision-making}, volume = {2022}, pages = {106279}, journal = {Energy Economics}, subtitle = {The role of cognition and energy literacy}, number = {114}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0140-9883}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106279}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Energy labels are used worldwide to overcome the inefficiency in household energy use. Presenting energy efficiency in grade-like categories has been found to induce heuristic decision-making, known as the "class valuation effect". This study investigates whether visualising energy efficiency using a continuous-scale label increases consumers' consciousness when purchasing appliances. We examine this question in an online survey with randomised decision tasks conducted in China and the Netherlands. In the Dutch sample, the effectiveness of continuous-scale labels depends on individuals' holistic cognitive tendency and the type of comparison they are faced with, whereas the Chinese sample is not sensitive to these moderators. Moreover, energy literacy shows mixed influence on individual decisions. Results suggest that representing energy efficiency on continuous scales can be used as supportive visual information to facilitate purchase decisions. Regarding energy education, knowledge that directly links to daily energy use seems to translate well into consumers' conscious decisions.}, language = {en} } @article{HeBlaschBeukering2022, author = {He, Shutong and Blasch, Julia and Beukering, Pieter van}, title = {How does information on environmental emissions influence appliance choice?}, pages = {113142}, journal = {Energy Policy}, subtitle = {The role of values and perceived environmental impacts}, number = {168}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0301-4215}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113142}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Energy labels with compact information on the energy use of appliances have been adopted worldwide to encourage consumers to make informed investment decisions. This study examines whether communicating environmental emissions (CO2 and air pollutant emissions) on energy labels can increase the preferences for energy-efficient appliances, with a specific focus on the role of individual psychological traits. A survey with decision tasks was conducted among the adult population in the Netherlands. Results show that information on environmental emissions does not increase the intention to invest in energy-efficiency, while energy-saving attitudes and habits do. Nevertheless, presenting information on CO2 emissions as well as combined CO2 and air pollutant emissions on energy labels can increase the preferences for energy-efficient appliances among individuals with relatively strong postmaterialist values. Information on CO2 emissions also increases the preferences of individuals with strong environmental concerns. However, no significant effects are found for information on air pollutant emissions. Also, personal experience of environmental degradation was not found to affect the effectiveness of the tested information interventions. Finally, we discuss the role of attention and type of decision situation for the processing of emissions information on energy labels. Our findings provide insights for improving information display on energy labels and energy education.}, language = {en} }